25 GARDENING MYTHS DEBUNKED

Here are more gardening myths – see if they are true or false

MYTH #7. Coat just-pruned tree branches with a seal to prevent fungus or disease.
TRUE — It used to be common practice to paint a sealant over the cut where a branch was cut off, like putting a band-aid on it. But the tree needs to heal and form a callous, so now they say just to clean it off and let it heal by itself.
Peter Linehan

MYTH #8. You need both a male & female tree in order to get fruit.
TRUE & FALSE. Some fruit trees do need both the male and female trees to be planted in proximity to each other in order to produce fruit. But now there are lots of self-pollinating trees that have been developed – they provide their own pollen and they fertilize themselves. You can find many self-pollinating peach, apple, apricot, pear and cherry trees.
MYTH #9. If you use wood chips from a diseased tree, it will spread disease to other plants.
FALSE — There is no evidence for this, if the chips are just used on the surface as a mulch. But if you are concerned, just don t turn them or till them into the soil.
MYTH #10. The more fertilizer you use, the better the plant will grow.
FALSE — Many people make this mistake. Always follow the directions on the package, whether it s fertilizer or pesticide, because too much could damage the plant, not to mention the environment.